NFL Quick Shots: Handicapping 3-0 teams

Five teams mathematically have a shot to go 16-0. One, in reality, does.

Reed Schreck

Five teams mathematically have a shot to go 16-0. One, in reality, does.

The New England Patriots are silly good, destroying the decent (Jets), the good (Chargers) and the unfortunate (Bills). If they stay perfect against a tough schedule, they'll have earned it with no asterisks. (Well, there is that videotaping issue, so we'll see).

The Patriots are on the road Oct. 14 at Dallas, Nov. 4 at Indianapolis (can you say Game of the Year?) and Dec. 3 at Baltimore. They also play Cincinnati, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

With that many tough tests, you'd be inclined to say they won't do it. The way they're playing so far -- without Rodney Harrison (suspended) and Richard Seymour (injured) -- it's hard to figure out who will beat them when those two return.

Indianapolis is the next-best 3-0 squad. But the Colts face the Patriots and have to go to San Diego.

Pittsburgh's playing nearly as well and doing it more with defense. The Steelers' schedule is also softer, with a home game against Seattle and road games at Cincinnati and Baltimore the toughest aside from the Patriots game.

Dallas looks scary on offense, shaky on defense. The Cowboys' schedule is the easiest yet if they can get by the Patriots.

And that brings us to the last unbeaten, the Packers. They've knocked off three straight 2006 playoff teams, so they won't be afraid of anybody. Lack of a running game will catch up to them on Brett Favre's off days - and there will be a few of those.

Berrian in Rex's corner

Chicago Bears wideout Bernard Berrian agrees that Rex Grossman has been made a scapegoat for the team's troubles.

"Definitely. I've been saying that since last year," Berrian said. "It's not always been Rex. At times, it's been different parts or groups within the offense since the beginning of all the critical talk about Rex."

Watch what you say

As Brian Griese stepped down from the podium after his first news conference as Chicago's new quarterback, he said to the media, "You guys are easy."

Everyone chuckled. Of course, he knows he might not feel the same way if he puts up numbers similar to his predecessor.

"At the end, that was the case," he said. "You get to the point where you try so hard to make something happen, instead of just letting it flow. We never got to that point offensively this year; it wasn't just him.

"Every time we do something good, we follow it up with something negative. We have not been able to put back-to-back drives together."